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Rodney’s – Cherry Creek

In a small, easy-to-overlook basement on 2nd Ave in North Cherry Creek, you’ll find Rodney’s Bar and Grill — complete with a sign that will transport you back to the 1980’s. I don’t know why, but something about the font and the name just make me feel like I should wear a jean jacket, feather my hair a bit, and listen to soft rock.

Rodney’s menu must be different at lunch than at dinner…so take this review for what it’s worth. I’ll give a short review of the lunch burger, which was about $6.00 with fries. The menu I link to above shows a $9.00 freshly-ground sirloin burger…and frankly, the lunch burger I got seemed as far from freshly ground as you can get.

My burger came with a good American cheese melt and nicely caramelized onions on an Aspen Bakery bun. The bun was under-toasted, but otherwise the general presentation was exactly what you’d expect from a bar and grill. Basic and simple. There’s something comforting about such a burger…growing up in America and consuming close to 20,000 similar burgers, I find myself emotionally soothed when my eyes behold a white plate, ramekin of ketchup, and an open faced bar-and-grill cheeseburger. If America itself where my mother, such a cheeseburger would be like America pulling me close, gently stroking my hair, and whispering “there, there.”

Unfortunately, after I took my first bite I realized my dream had come to a end. Not a violent one, just a “ho hum” one. My mid-rare patty came out closer to medium, and seemed to be nothing more than a thin puck of processed, food service beef with all the bland flavor that accompanies such atrocities.

With a better toast on the bun and some decent beef, Rodney’s would’ve been passable. As I tasted it, if you are in Cherry Creek for lunch and need a burg, head over to the Cherry Cricket for a better-than-average-but-still-not-perfect burger…or commit and go for the gold a few blocks away: Elway’s.

Interested to hear if anyone has tried Rodney’s at night…tell us in the comments!